Whitmarsh to hold private Ferrari talks

[vcs316]

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh plans to hold private talks with Ferrari to let them know his views on the team orders controversy that rocked the German Grand Prix.

Ferrari was fined $100,000 and could face further sanctions from the FIA's World Motor Sport Council for illegally using team orders to help Fernando Alonso take victory at Hockenheim on Sunday.

Although Ferrari is adamant that it did nothing wrong, the Maranello team's actions have caused a wave of outrage from fans and the media worldwide.

And although Ferrari's decision to hand Alonso the win in Germany has added a fresh dynamic to the world title fight, Whitmarsh said he did not wish to get drawn into a public slanging match.

"I don't want to get drawn into it," explained Whitmarsh. "I have my own private views on it. They were quicker than us today; they got a 1-2, but perhaps in a different order from that which people may have thought was right.

"I will give my private views to Ferrari, but I don't want to go on record and express those views."

And despite Ferrari showing itself so willing to throw its support behind one driver, Whitmarsh has promised his drivers that they will remain free to race.

"You can go back to the late 90s and all sorts of times when things have happened - but we decide to race. I think having our drivers racing, in the longer term, is a healthy thing to do for this team.

"That is my decision and that is what we want to do. Others do what they want to do, and it is for the FIA and Ferrari to determine what they think is right. We were racing our two guys until the end of the race."

He added: "All I know is the same as you. I heard what I heard, I saw what I saw, but it is for others to comment on.

"Ferrari were quick and we did what we could - and they raced how they raced. That was not a new approach from Ferrari, was it?"

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85573

[Greig]

"but we decide to race. I think having our drivers racing, in the longer term, is a healthy thing to do for this team."

Liar, we heard your team radio at Turkey, hopefully Ferrari don't answer your call

[Fiondella]

exactly

[LAROSA SpA]

Im so sick of McLarens hypocrisy, Stefano should tell him were to stick his opinion

[Curbs]

Stefano could ask him if they have solved their fuelissues from Turkey?

[Curbs]

And look at 1:46 in this clip. Ring any bells?
Kovalainen - Hamilton Germany 2008...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5GTl...eature=related

[theodorus8864]

Perhaps Whitmarsh-mallow will share some tips on "How to give team orders without losing your face". Boys and gals, write it down!!!

[Kingdom Hearts]

This people, Whitmarsh, Horner.... they are hypocrites, they do the same thing over and over and still have the guts to go against Ferrari. Pack of loosers.

[RED]

Liar, we heard your team radio at Turkey, hopefully Ferrari don't answer your call

[shostak]

McLaren insists Button and Hamilton have no orders

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has refused to comment on the Ferrari team orders scandal but insists the same thing would not have happened at McLaren under his watch.

At the German Grand Prix the stewards fined Ferrari for implementing team orders and it could face further punishment when the issue is put before the FIA World Motor Sport Council. Whitmarsh said McLaren would never have ordered its drivers to swap positions under the same circumstances.

"You can go back to the late 90s and all sorts of times when things have happened - but we decide to race," he told Autosport. "I think having our drivers racing, in the longer term, is a healthy thing to do for this team.

"That is my decision and that is what we want to do. Others do what they want to do, and it is for the FIA and Ferrari to determine what they think is right. We were racing our two guys until the end of the race."

He said he did not want to comment publically on the issue.

"I don't want to get drawn into it," he added. "I have my own private views on it. They were quicker than us today; they got a 1-2, but perhaps in a different order from that which people may have thought was right. I will give my private views to Ferrari, but I don't want to go on record and express those views.

"All I know is the same as you. I heard what I heard, I saw what I saw, but it is for others to comment on. Ferrari were quick and we did what we could - and they raced how they raced. That was not a new approach from Ferrari, was it?"

http://www.espn.co.uk/formula1/sport...ml?CMP=OTC-RSS

Excusatio non petita, accusatio manifesta

[dfunk257]

what a load of crap! If Mcalren had no team orders at all, then Jenson wouldve been all over pretty boy Hamilton yesterday. But he was told to preserve the engine, please, what a load of crap!

[Tech_Skill]

I just spoke to Stefano and told him Witmarsh was gonna call him to discuss team orders.

Stefano's now diverted his phone to voicemail.

[paneristi]

tell the camp to watch out for spy camera..

[FFFerrari]

'I've never heard a driver talk such bull****,' he said of Alonso. 'He has no character. This was the most stupid thing I have ever seen from Ferrari. Why did they do it? They did not need to because the championship is alive for another eight races. Why could Massa not have a chance to win, a year since he had the accident that could have cost his life?'

[arunkshrestha]

what a load of crap! If Mcalren had no team orders at all, then Jenson wouldve been all over pretty boy Hamilton yesterday. But he was told to preserve the engine, please, what a load of crap!

erm it was Hamilton was was told to save fuel, Button recieved no such instructions. But of course Button was all over Hamilton, so much so that he ran wide at Turn 1 trying to keep up. :D

[Greig]

erm it was Hamilton was was told to save fuel, Button recieved no such instructions. But of course Button was all over Hamilton, so much so that he ran wide at Turn 1 trying to keep up. :D

LOL you clearly never watched the race I suggest you review it and hear the radio to Jenson, and off course the McLaren cover up PR swung into action after the race

As a light drizzle started, the McLaren team mate battled for the lead themselves, and with nine laps to go Button got a run on Hamilton into turn 12. Hamilton held the inside line but the two ran side-by-side, and Button had the line into turn 13 and took the lead.

It didn't last long though as Hamilton made a run on the front straight and retook the lead into turn 1. After that McLaren were on the radio to their drivers urging them that their fuel consumption was tight and that they should conserve fuel.

[arunkshrestha]

LOL you clearly never watched the race I suggest you review it and hear the radio to Jenson, and off course the McLaren cover up PR swung into action after the race

Sorry dfunk and I were talking about yesterday.

[Greig]

Sorry dfunk and I were talking about yesterday.

Same thing happened yesterday, the team orders in coded messages at McLaren

[FFFerrari]

Conserve fuel = hold positions in Macca-speak

[arunkshrestha]

Same thing happened yesterday, the team orders in coded messages at McLaren

From what we've heard it was only Hamilton who was told to conserve fuel. If button was given the same order then we'd have heard it as all radio is public now. And it was obvious Button was pushing to keep up as he went off at turn 1.

[Hermann]

Boy the british press is over the moon about this. What a food for the tabloids. If you want to have a look: the usual suspects, Daily Mail, The Sun, Telegraph, Guardian (though their comments are a bit more moderate)...

Daily Mail says: 'F1 is full of cheats'. Wow. What took them so long to find this out? And how come they only come out with this now? I have seen a lot of cheating from the beginning of the season, though not from Ferrari.

Lauda is a well- known Alonso- hater. I have no idea why RTL is keeping him, he talks a lot of crap most of the time, but for the real insults, he will always stick to Fernando.

[Fiondella]

Boy the british press is over the moon about this. What a food for the tabloids. If you want to have a look: the usual suspects, Daily Mail, The Sun, Telegraph, Guardian (though their comments are a bit more moderate)...

Daily Mail says: 'F1 is full of cheats'. Wow. What took them so long to find this out? And how come they only come out with this now? I have seen a lot of cheating from the beginning of the season, though not from Ferrari.

Lauda is a well- known Alonso- hater. I have no idea why RTL is keeping him, he talks a lot of crap most of the time, but for the real insults, he will always stick to Fernando.

Well the Beeb have Eddie "Num-nuts" Jordon. Who do you think might the win the oustanding reporting sensationilsm contribution to F1 award?

[Hermann]

Well the Beeb have Eddie "Num-nuts" Jordon. Who do you think might the win the oustanding reporting sensationilsm contribution to F1 award?

Lauda, by far.

[Hermann]

In Germany 2008, Heikki was told over the team radio 'Hamilton is 2 seconds faster than you'. (I guess we all remember who won the WDC that year). He let Hamilton pass him. After the race, Heikki said he did it 'for the good of the team, and Hamilton was faster'.

The very same press called it 'a gentleman maneuver'.

[goferrarigo]

What a hypocrite. It just makes me laugh when it says that Whitmarsh has promised his drivers that they will remain free to race.

[Fiondella]

What a hypocrite. It just makes me laugh when it says that Whitmarsh has promised his drivers that they will remain free to race.

Macca have always been good at covering their cheating. However, when it comes to Team Orders I think they have every right to do it. The rule stinks and needs to be dropped

[Hornet]

Perhaps Whitmarsh-mallow will share some tips on "How to give team orders without losing your face". Boys and gals, write it down!!!

'I've never heard a driver talk such bull****,' he said of Alonso. 'He has no character. This was the most stupid thing I have ever seen from Ferrari. Why did they do it? They did not need to because the championship is alive for another eight races. Why could Massa not have a chance to win, a year since he had the accident that could have cost his life?'

Guess he has never heard himself talking

[Fiondella]

What About Eddie JawDrop comments :

"Absolutely disgusting. Ferrari should be disqualified"
Eddie Jordan, the former team owner and now BBC pundit who opined that Ferrari's tactics constituted "theft"
"They stole from us the chance of having a wheel-to-wheel contest between the drivers," Jordan said. "For me it is cheating and these two cars should be excluded."

Classic case of bridgestone in mouth disease from Eddie. Obviously loving the sound of his own voice.

[Hermann]

For me, the sudden 'outcry' from the british side of F1 is as hypocritical as it can get. Unfortunately, they have a big influence in the F1 circus. But maybe, there will come something good out of it; you never know. The next time they will not be able to call it a 'gentleman maneuver' just because a british team did it.

How can F1 be a 'team sport' when 'team orders' are declared illegal? And how can they control this? They obviously can't, because it happens all the time.

Who put his money on Massa lost it. Who put his money on Hamilton in 2007 lost it as well. Not to talk about those who put their money on Alonso the same year. No outcry at that time? Why not? Maybe because of 'spygate'. And they were quite busy with putting all the blame on Fernando and make him look the devil incarnated in everything that happenend at Macca that year.

While Bernie must be loving all this, it opens up more and more eyes of the F1 watchers that races, titles and everything in F1 is indeed 'manipulated' to a certain degree. And what else is new?

F1 has gone into self- destruction mode. While the audience becomes bigger because the masses love the scandals, inside the 'sport' things are getting serious.

And while the press is throwing all kinds of mud at Ferrari, the question remains: how is it possible to make F1 a more 'honest sport' when all the efforts of Bernie, FOM, FIA, and the teams, are going into the direction of making F1 'more entertaining'?

[Tech_Skill]

What About Eddie JawDrop comments :

"Absolutely disgusting. Ferrari should be disqualified"
Eddie Jordan, the former team owner and now BBC pundit who opined that Ferrari's tactics constituted "theft"
"They stole from us the chance of having a wheel-to-wheel contest between the drivers," Jordan said. "For me it is cheating and these two cars should be excluded."

Classic case of bridgestone in mouth disease from Eddie. Obviously loving the sound of his own voice.

The same Eddie Jordan who stopped Ralf Schumacher overtaking Damon Hill in Spa.

Eddie Jordan and Jonathan Legard are so bad, they make James Allen look impartial.